In these days of propagandist mainstream media and internet lunatics just making shit up, Pilger and his ilk - independent (very), dedicated journalists - are a valuable resource. He writes: Ten years ago, a film of mine could be made in six months, even less. The main work was the research, the journalism. Whenever I felt confident I had the basis of a story, I would go to the ITV Network in the UK and seek a broadcast commission. If that was forthcoming, ITV would fund the production. The difference now is that I, the film-maker, must raise most of the production money. Also, my documentaries have changed considerably in recent years. They are now made for the cinema as well as TV, and for the internet. Ive made three films this way, The War on Democracy (2007), The War You Dont See (2010) and Utopia (2013). Utopia took more than two years to make. In raising the money for these films, Ive been fortunate to find sympathetic philanthropists and foundations, and persuade them to contribute without attaching any editorial strings. But these benefactors are rare, and tracking them down is probably the hardest part of film-making now and, frankly, not the kind of work I ever saw myself doing - Ive always preferred simply to do the job I knew - journalism. Ive lately embarked on another film journey - this will be my 60th documentary. ITV has commissioned the film, and provided seed money. The working title is The Coming War Between America and China, and the film will tell the largely unreported story of a new US strategic policy known as the pivot to Asia. In a nutshell, what this means is that the US is preparing for a new provocative cold war that has every chance of becoming a hot war. Washington has begun to move its main missile and naval forces into the Asia-Pacific in order to surround and confront China, whose extraordinary economic rise in recent years is regarded in Washington as a threat to American dominance. For obvious reasons, I wont lay out here the where, what and why. Suffice to say the film will be shot in some surprising places where Ill meet and interview extraordinary people. Above all, it will be revealing: that is assured. Having read this far, youre sure to guess that this message is heading towards another modern cliché - an ask. My colleagues at Dartmouth Films and I need to raise at least £60,000 or $100,000 in order to start making the film. This money wont meet unforeseen costs or pay for distribution and promotion, but it will allow for the promised philanthropy, on which the bulk of the films funding depends, to come on stream and for filming to begin. And thats where you come in. This is known as crowd funding and, as you can guess, its my first day in this strange new world. If you can give £5 - thats about $10 - no more - Ill be grateful. For your part, youll have made a vital contribution to a film whose disclosure and warning are, I believe, urgently needed. Im hopeful youll be proud of the result. Thank you.
Posted on: Thu, 11 Dec 2014 11:16:36 +0000
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